4 ms·

I've always found it odd how people say Jesus Christ as if it were a curse word. I wonder where this practice originated. Is it common in other parts of the wor

I've always found it odd how people say Jesus Christ as if it were a curse word. I wonder where this practice originated. Is it common in other parts of the world for other religions? Do people in China have an equivalent saying? Oh Buddha! etc. -Genuinely curious

glhaynes 16y ago
Curse words very often come from that which is sacred/revered/taboo in a culture.
Dove 16y ago
Yeah, there are a whole slew of religious curse phrases -- "oh my God", "mother of God", "for God's sake", "for heaven's sake". Or even exotic variants like, "sweet mother of mercy". I find it interesting that they are generally used to express awe, surprise, or to invoke a sense of gravity or urgency -- opposed to other swear words which generally seek to disgust, communicate an offensive attitude, or invoke taboo to draw attention through shock. The religious oaths seem to me more like the oaths of fantasy ("By Turin's beard!", "I swear upon the sword of my father", "In Vela's name") than the language of shock and offense ("scurvy maggots", "Why don't you go stick your foo in a bar and then baz it?") I'd speculate that they're referencing the strong emotions religious people actually feel -- the awe and gravity of the sacred, a cry for help in a moment of fear, not the offensive force of blasphemy. The amplification is always toward the sacred ("sweet Mary, Jesus, and all the saints") or the silly ("Jesus H. Christ on a pogo stick"), never toward the offensive. "Jesus" amplifies to "Jesus Christ" or "holy Jesus", never to something like "Jesus' stinkin' piss".
- waterlesscloud 16y ago
  And Zounds! (God's Wounds!) and Gadzooks! (God's Hooks, aka nails that held Christ to the cross).
icegreentea 16y ago
At least for the Christian ones, I believe it partly goes with the whole 'Thou shall not speak the Lord's name in vain' thing. Most chinese swearing has to do with a) actual cursing (damn you!), b) penis and vaginas and c) insulting your parents. So basically the same as English once you strip out god/lord/christ.
gxti 16y ago
The Quebecois are particularly fond of religious imagery as a basis for cursing: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quebec_French_profanity http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quebec_French_profanity

glhaynes 16y ago

Curse words very often come from that which is sacred/revered/taboo in a culture.

Dove 16y ago

Yeah, there are a whole slew of religious curse phrases -- "oh my God", "mother of God", "for God's sake", "for heaven's sake". Or even exotic variants like, "sweet mother of mercy". I find it interesting that they are generally used to express awe, surprise, or to invoke a sense of gravity or urgency -- opposed to other swear words which generally seek to disgust, communicate an offensive attitude, or invoke taboo to draw attention through shock. The religious oaths seem to me more like the oaths of fantasy ("By Turin's beard!", "I swear upon the sword of my father", "In Vela's name") than the language of shock and offense ("scurvy maggots", "Why don't you go stick your foo in a bar and then baz it?") I'd speculate that they're referencing the strong emotions religious people actually feel -- the awe and gravity of the sacred, a cry for help in a moment of fear, not the offensive force of blasphemy. The amplification is always toward the sacred ("sweet Mary, Jesus, and all the saints") or the silly ("Jesus H. Christ on a pogo stick"), never toward the offensive. "Jesus" amplifies to "Jesus Christ" or "holy Jesus", never to something like "Jesus' stinkin' piss".

waterlesscloud 16y ago
And Zounds! (God's Wounds!) and Gadzooks! (God's Hooks, aka nails that held Christ to the cross).

icegreentea 16y ago

At least for the Christian ones, I believe it partly goes with the whole 'Thou shall not speak the Lord's name in vain' thing. Most chinese swearing has to do with a) actual cursing (damn you!), b) penis and vaginas and c) insulting your parents. So basically the same as English once you strip out god/lord/christ.

gxti 16y ago

The Quebecois are particularly fond of religious imagery as a basis for cursing: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quebec_French_profanity http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quebec_French_profanity